Updated

07/11/2017 - 9:15am

There have been repeated rumors that the ISIS leader is dead, but the Pentagon says it cannot corroborate the reports. Now the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it's obtained information from ISIS leaders of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death.

ISIS has taken advantage of the chaos in Libya to establish its own strongholds. One city they have managed to take over is Derna. Last October, Mohamed Eljarh managed to sneak in and get back out safely.

The rise of ISIS and their brutal acts of terror have been a horrifying development in the past year. And yet within in the Middle Eastern artistic community, an unlikely group of voices has begun to stand up to try and combat’s the group’s message of fear and intolerance: comedians.

The US has long worried that its attempts to fight terrorism might actually spur more terrorism. We learn that a US detention camp in Iraq seems to have helped incubate ISIS. Meanwhile, it is Election Day in the US and an app lets Americans show their partisan choices as they shop. And an Egyptian bus driver found one heck of a way to fail a drug test. We have those stories and more in today's Global Scan.

After resisting involvement for months — and even years — the US and five other countries finally launched airstrikes in Syria against ISIS, the Khorasan Group and other Islamist militants. But will the US be able to keep its long-standing vow not to send ground troops to defeat ISIS?

When ISIS accounts were kicked off of Facebook and Twitter, the terrorist group turned to Russian social network VKontakte to keep up its propaganda and fundraising. A new report from a Russian news site exposed the extent of the militants' use of Russian sites and that seems to have started a crackdown by authorities.

The idea of a caliphate has a powerful history for Muslims, who enjoyed their greatest political and military successes under ancient caliphs. But Muslims are divided over whether the caliphate proclaimed by ISIS militants is worthy of that proud mantle.

Caribbean coral reefs provide food, create jobs and draw millions of tourists every year, but they are disappearing. Parrotfish are one key to their survival. Parents in China have a way to ensure success for their children: pay to get them into the army. And ISIS militants in Iraq want to head to Rome next, all in today's Global Scan.

Updated

07/11/2017 - 9:15am

There have been repeated rumors that the ISIS leader is dead, but the Pentagon says it cannot corroborate the reports. Now the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it's obtained information from ISIS leaders of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death.

The US has long worried that its attempts to fight terrorism might actually spur more terrorism. We learn that a US detention camp in Iraq seems to have helped incubate ISIS. Meanwhile, it is Election Day in the US and an app lets Americans show their partisan choices as they shop. And an Egyptian bus driver found one heck of a way to fail a drug test. We have those stories and more in today's Global Scan.

The rise of ISIS and their brutal acts of terror have been a horrifying development in the past year. And yet within in the Middle Eastern artistic community, an unlikely group of voices has begun to stand up to try and combat’s the group’s message of fear and intolerance: comedians.

ISIS has taken advantage of the chaos in Libya to establish its own strongholds. One city they have managed to take over is Derna. Last October, Mohamed Eljarh managed to sneak in and get back out safely.

Abu bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the militant group ISIS — Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ‚— has called on Muslims to immigrate to Iraq and Syria to help build an Islamic state. ISIS hopes to create an Islamic state in the Middle East.

Caribbean coral reefs provide food, create jobs and draw millions of tourists every year, but they are disappearing. Parrotfish are one key to their survival. Parents in China have a way to ensure success for their children: pay to get them into the army. And ISIS militants in Iraq want to head to Rome next, all in today's Global Scan.

The idea of a caliphate has a powerful history for Muslims, who enjoyed their greatest political and military successes under ancient caliphs. But Muslims are divided over whether the caliphate proclaimed by ISIS militants is worthy of that proud mantle.